Considering I lived here for a year, you’d think that I’d have been to the coast at least once…well that was the plan, however, on April 16th, 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador (with the epicenter in the coast, however felt throughout the entire country). This unfortunately changed my plan of taking my family to the coast when they came to visit me in May.
It was an event I will never be able to forget. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing minutes, hours and seconds before it hit. I was still in Ibarra at my placement, meaning I was closer to the epicenter than if I had’ve been in Quito, where most of my friends were at the time. It was a Saturday, and I found myself out with my host family at their grandson/newphew’s birthday party…it was all fun and games, with clowns and piñatas. We left the party around 6:30pm and started walking towards the center, when my host sister began to beg that we go into the mall to look for dresses for her graduation which was coming up. We all agreed we’d go and have a quick look. I remember looking at dresses and pointing out ones I thought would look nice on her, when all of a sudden Nathaly and I both started wondering why the mannequins were shaking…a few seconds later the shaking got stronger, and everyone in the mall began to scream and crowds of panicked people ran towards the stairs. As soon as we reached the stairs and began to go down, there was what felt like a huge drop in the earth, and people began falling. It felt like I was on those stairs for hours, and by the time we got outside, things were still shaking, I remember looking at a light post and realizing that the trembling hadn’t stopped yet. Although an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude is extremely strong, what was worse was how long it lasted. The duration of this earthquake is what people say caused the most damage.
I was very lucky that I wasn’t any closer to the epicenter, however, it felt as if I were right there, that’s how strong it was. The power remained out for quite some time, and I remember getting internet and panicking to message my family to let them know I was alive before they heard about it back in Canada, just in case I didn’t have power or internet access for a while after.
Things like these really make you take a step back and give thanks to God. There were so many reasons I felt this way. One of them was the fact that two of my close friends had traveled to the coast a few days before and were extremely close to the epicenter, they had planned to stay until Sunday (earthquake happened Saturday), as far as I knew….however, someone was looking out for them because they decided to head back early in order to get some work done in Quito. This small decision changed their lives.
Sooooo….sad stuff aside, I am back in Ecuador one year later, and it sounds like they have done a lot of construction in the coast in order to rebuild the lives of those who lost everything. There have been numerous aftershocks, there was one in Guayaquil just a few days ago (4.6 magnitude). But from what I have seen and heard, Ecuador is strong and united.
I decided that since one of my best friends, Laurence, was here in Ecuador until May 18th, that we would make our way to the coast together, to Puerto Lopez to be exact. Puerto Lopez was obviously hit hard by the earthquake, but it was one of the few small coastal towns that had little damage done, no deaths, and only a few collapsed buildings. However, our bus didn’t go directly to Puerto Lopez, rather we had to catch a second bus from Manta, one of the areas that was severely affected by the earthquake. Although I didn’t see much of Manta, just what I saw in passing, it was obvious that things were not the same. When I first got off the bus in Manta I was hit by reality and felt sad thinking about the fact that I would never get to know Manta pre-earthquake. Similarly, after talking with a friend we met at our hostel who was coming from Canoa, another beach town that was severely affected, I realized that although things are getting better in these areas, these people are still lacking enthusiasm and happiness after having lost so much. Our friend said that she enjoyed Canoa, but felt that the people there were still suffering from last years trauma. This is the complete opposite of what all my friends had said who visited before the earthquake. Canoa was one of their favourite places, with very friendly and happy people. It’s quite sad to think about, but very important that we don’t forget about our Ecuadorian friends in the coast. With this said, I do feel that there was one good thing that came out of such a terrible tragedy, that being great solidarity, not only on a global level in terms of rescue teams and volunteers, but more importantly within the country. One of the slogans that was used and still is to this day is, “Ecuador, Listo y Solidario” (“Ecuador, ready and united”).
On a much better note, Puerto Lopez was amazing. It is such a tranquil place, nobody is in a rush and life is good. The people truly follow my good pal Laurence’s favourite sayings, “don’t worry, be happy”. It was exactly what I needed.
On our first day, Laurence, Carol (Laurence’s host cousin/BFF) and I strolled along the beach with our feet in the ocean. On our walk we came across a turtle rehabilitation center with about 20 injured turtles. They were beautiful, but it was actually really sad to see this. We continued walking until we were overheating, and we decided to run into the ocean. It was this moment that changed my trip. I got out of the water with what seemed like a weird burn, which is definitely possible since my sunscreen would’ve washed off in the ocean. However later that night we met some locals on the beach who told me it was something called “mala agua” which are tiny jellyfish who stung me. The same thing happened to Carol. It was a very strange feeling. So I continued to walk around town looking like a freak and having everyone stare at my legs.
On our second day we went to La Isla de la Plata, which is an island just about an hour away from Puerto Lopez by boat. People refer to it as the Galapagos for the poor people, since it has a lot of the same wild life, but at a fraction of the cost. We hiked up the mountain, sweating our butts off in the scorching heat (reminding myself I’m clearly from Canada where there’s snow). This was an absolutely beautiful day, a great experience. We met people from all over the world, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, England and Italy.
As you can see in the pictures below, we saw Frigate birds, Blue footed boobies, turtles, and a ton of jellyfish while snorkeling (which unfortunately aren’t seen in any pictures).
Overall, the Ecuadorian coast is a stunning place to be, not only because of the beaches, but also because of the people, and the relaxed way of life. I had a great time with 2 great friends.
Ecuador, listo y solidario
Paz y amor xoxo
-E
Your mountain is waiting 
Wish I was there ❤️❤️❤️
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